


Neither Does She Spin

by tielan



Series: Meeting Halfway [22]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 30 Day OTP Challenge, Cooking, Established Relationship, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-06 02:35:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17337065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tielan/pseuds/tielan
Summary: Maria does occasionally cook...





	Neither Does She Spin

**Author's Note:**

> Oh look, it's Day 21 of this OTP series that I've been writing for 6 years, with today's prompt being 'Cooking/Baking'. I'm not sure whether to be more impressed that I'm still shipping this pairing, or that I'm still writing this series...

Some time ago, back in the earliest days in the Tower, movie night featured a movie from some fifteen years ago where an amnesiac assassin turned up living as a housewife in suburbia, and only remembered who she was when someone tried to kill her and her family.

Watching the way Maria deals with the vegetables for the soup they’re making for dinner puts Steve in mind of the scene where the woman recalls her knife skills while chopping things for dinner before she happily pins a flung tomato to a cupboard door with a thrown knife.

Except that Maria knows exactly who she is, exactly what she’s capable of doing, and exactly what she’s doing.

She’s cutting up vegetables for soup on a cold New York night, although she hates cooking, and mostly orders takeout on their nights in. Cool competence in an otherwise innocuous package, her hair in a ponytail, strands floating loose around her face, no make-up, just the sharp lines of her face – not a conventional beauty, perhaps, but with an intensity to her that draws his eye.

Sometimes it still surprises Steve that Maria gave him so much as a second look. His reputation, who he is, would be an advantage with most women, but not with this one.

As the carrots give way to the onions, give way to the celery, give way to the potatoes, Steve supposes he should be worried by how forcefully Maria’s slicing, dicing, and chopping. There’s temper there, not just a desire to prep a meal. He trusts that, after all this time together, she’ll bring the issue to him when she’s ready. And so long as he’s not the one who caused the temper, he finds it...well, rather arousing. Maria in a temper is extremely hot.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

He shouldn’t respond with, “Like what?” But there’s enough ornery in him to push it.

“Like I’m going to turn the knife on you, and you’re going to either enjoy it, or enjoy taking it off me.”

He blushes. Just a little. “I’m just admiring your skill with a knife.”

“Uhuh.” This time when she speaks, her voice is the low, intense one that she uses to talk filthy when they’re in bed. “Which would you prefer, Steve?”

Did he say ‘rather arousing’? The heat springs up under his collar, swirling in his belly, jolting his balls. When she glances up at him through her lashes, Steve instinctively moistens his lips.

“You can leave the knife,” he says, standing up straight and holding out a hand in invitation. “I’ll be good.”

“You usually are.” She eyes the hand for a moment. “You’re not hungry?”

“Not for food.”

After a moment, she keeps chopping. “Not for food _yet_.”

Smiling ruefully, Steve sits back down and waits for her to finish cooking.

–

Maria doesn’t actually finish cooking. She just puts the soup on to simmer.

She leaves the knife.

–

Later, satiated and starving, Steve runs his hand down Maria’s arm as she spoons out soup for them both and is grateful for a woman who knows exactly what she’s doing.

 


End file.
